Gaspard Delacroix
Perhaps the most unique and indivudal Kossith in Thedas, Gaspard is most definetly not your typical Kossith. Playful, flirtatous and curious, Gaspard has all the bearing of an Orlesian noble while making his living as a mercenary on the streets of Denerim - as much of an anomaly now as he has been his entire life. Background Gaspard's history is long and complicated. After all, an Orlesian Kossith, and a mage? What is this madness? Well, let's start from another perspective, his mother's to be exact. Gaspard's mother was called Issala, which meant Dust in Qunlat, the language of the Qunari. She held a rather high position among the Qunari as she was a part of the Tamassrans, who together have a helping hand in technically ruling the Qunari society religiously wise. She was one of the youngest in fact. What many of the Qunari might not know about Issala though, was that she was a very special person, born with a special gift. The gift of magic. She was fortunate to have only discovered her abilities in her later years and no one was present. She never really knew her parents, after all, anyone born under the Qun have no real family. She assumed one of them was a Saarebas, or even both for all she could care. Ever since she was a child, she was raised and bred so that she would have a position of a Tamassran, and she would not let that go so easily. Issala refused to be stripped of her title, have her horns removed and be labeled as a Saarebas.So she remained secretive, never once practicing her abilities. Thanks to her high social standing, no one ever questioned her or suspected her. Unlike most of the Tamassrans however, and the Qunari populace in general, was that Issala was naturally empathetic. She actually felt, understood and showed emotion and care, which was part of her weakness. Which truly showed when one day, she befriended a human convert to the Qunari, his name was Albert Delacroix. He was an Orlesian noble and researcher, which was made quite apparent due to his accent. Albert was one of the few escapes in Issala's life. She poured her heart out to him and would vent to him about the stress of being a Tamassran, how she must agree with her fellow sisters, or rather co-workers. In Qunari tradition however, your co-workers were the closest thing to family one may ever have. Albert on the other hand, a researcher from Orlais who traveled almost all of Thedas itself, Free Marshes, Tevinter Imperium, Nevarra, Rivain, and finally, Par Vollen where he had to announce himself as Qunari otherwise he'd be axed and forced into hard labor on the spot. Surprisingly, the man didn't mind. He was known for doing insane things for the sake of research. So he lived alongside the Qunari, taking on their way of life and recording it. When he told Issala all of this, she was supposed to take him in for merely posing as a true believer, but in the end, she couldn't. He was her only real friend, and at the same time, he was the only thing that she had power over. Why would she act on the power if it would only hurt him and her? Albert was also the one who encouraged Issala to practice more on her magical abilities, noting that holding a magical skill without training it would be the equivalent of holding a sword without sharpening it. As such, Albert supplied her with various books on studies of magic, ranging to all of the magical schools and event he special types of magic. Surprisingly, Issala had a knack for her abilities and was adept when practicing in private, mastering the arts of many magical schools and even taking on the specialized practice of Force magic in a matter of weeks and even began to create her own sort of magic. Ever since Issala allowed herself to become more open with her magical abilities she was able to see the world in a different respective. As opposed to a dreamer of the Fade, which she had read in her studies, she felt a connection with the fabric of reality itself, bending it, and weaving it between her fingers and manipulating it to her wishes, creating miracles. Perhaps, all Saarebas hold this ability but don't even know it due to being so limited by their masters and never forced to practice their magic besides the basics. Whatever it was, it was something that Issala began to practice very fluidly. Albert called it Thaumaturgy, miracle working, due to the nature of her abilities. And now had more reasons to be so interested in Issala. All seemed fine and well, four years flew by like a summer breeze, by day, she'd put on a public face, enforcing laws and such, and by night, she'd show her mage pride and would have a good laugh with Albert until finally, it was Issala's time. And by that, it was time for her to bore a child. Due to her position as a Tamassran, her fellow Tamassran sisters had to decide who would be her breed partner and even decide what they would breed this child into. A warrior, intellectual scholar, or even, a spiritual leader? However, Issala knew more than anyone the chaos of her bringing a child into this world would bring. She knew that her magical genes would become dominant, and the child would bore with magical abilities just like herself. And then, it'd be pretty obvious what would happen to the child once his abilities were discovered, not only would it hurt the child, it would hurt her as well, everything she'd work so hard for would be ruined. Despite her decisions and petitions against her mating, it was forced on her and she had to abide by the rules. Having no choice, Issala was forced into the mating ritual. All she could remember was how disgusting it was, no feelings, no affection, just disgust. After she conceived a child, she was desperate, she didn't know what she was going to do. She needed to talk to someone and the only person who would understand would be Albert. After elaborating to him about her situation, Albert knew that they only had one real solution. He was planning on leaving Par Vollen anyway due to his research on natural Kossith living Qunari lives was complete, but was conflicted in leaving Issala behind, knowing that she never truly believed in the Qun. He knew that they had to leave. Issala wasn't sure if this was wise decision, but in the end, if she wanted to protect herself and the child, she had no choice but to escape, even if it meant being labeled as a Tal-Vashoth for running away and betraying the Qun. Though, in a mental standpoint, Issala wasn't very conflicted. This religion, this life was forced on her, bred into her mind, and she didn't want it, just like how she didn't want this baby. She can throw away her life, her farce of a faith in which she doesn't even believe in, but she cannot just throw away this life that she had created. That night, Issala was able to escape with Albert out of Par Vollen and to Rivain thanks to some support from Albert's contacts who were in on the escape. That and the fact that Issala may have been forced to incapacitate and assailants with her abilities. Once they reached Rivain, they immediately prepared for their long expedition back to Orlais, it would take months to travel across Thedas back to Albert's home. Conveniently that's also how long it takes to bear a child. Issala faced many things on their journey across Thedas. Highwayman, thieves, pirates, the like. But with her brave scholar who protected her, and sometimes, her protecting him, they were able to make it through, cutting through the countries in a matter of 6 months, days on in end with traveling with no rest, but that was okay with Issala, as every night they spent, was filled with talking until the two couldn't talk anymore. When they finally arrived at the Orlesian capital, Val Royeaux, for once, Issala and Albert didn't have to run, they didn't have to hide and they could finally relax. There, Albert made accommodations for Issala to live in with him and stay at home, wanting nothing more but for her to safely deliver the child, while at the same time, published his research into books. In a few more months, Issala finally gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She didn't know what to call him at first. She's been raised as a Qunari her entire life, and children were always called Imekari before given a title based on their jobs or fated position. And that definitely was not a proper name for a child. As such, she asked Albert to name the child, and so they both agreed on Gaspard, allowing him to take on Albert's surname, Delacroix. Now that we have the backstory of his conception cleared, now we can finally move onto Albert's personal history. Growing up, Gaspard had it rough. There was no one like him in the chantry, tanned, white hair, pointed ears, and worst of all, his horns. Despite their parents insistence on raising him to be Andrastian and Orlesian, the only thing he really took in as a child was his surrogate father's accent and his flirtatious manner. In his later child years, Gaspard found it very easy to ingratiate himself among the human dominant populace, and looked at his race and birth as a plus rather than a curse. His charming personality and wit allowed for people to like him, surround himself among them and some of them saw through his race, and only saw him as another person. The fact that he did rather well intellectually only helped to make himself look better among the higher ups. Though, just like his mother before him, he could care less about the chantry. His life didn't really spice up until he was at the age of twelve when things began to change around him. Whenever he was pushed to the limit, or if he were stressed, the world would change around him. his papers would catch fire, but then would douse itself out once he told himself to stop. When frustrated, the air would feel chilly, and things would begin to freeze. Gaspard was confused about himself. He was already overwhelmed by the fact that he wasn't like the other kids, being a kossith, but now all these strange happenings occurring at once. Like any other "responsible" child (the only time Gaspard would ever be considered responsible), he went to confide with his mother. Issala's fears came true when Gaspard began to emit magical energies among other things. When Albert found out, he wasn't sure what to think. Would they let his sons natural talent go to waste? Or hone them at the risk of becoming taken away? Here in Ferelden , an apostate was just as good as a Saarebas, even if it was less severe. Issala wouldn't have it, but she knew that she couldn't just tell Gaspard to leave it alone and just hide, because then she'd be a hypocrite. As such, she decided to teach Gaspard at the price of him only using it to protect himself, engraving into his head that if he were ever to be caught using this wondrous talent of his that he would be taken away, never to be seen again. Gaspard agreed to the conditions for many reasons. His immature thoughts agreed that such abilities were just so cool and foreign that he couldn't wait to experience, while his more serious thoughts melded with the idea that he knew that he needed to use these lessons for future reference, in case anything were to happen and only be used for the right purpose, despite how cool and awesome it may be. He studied books, just like his mother before him, and his mother even trained him in the art of Thaumaturgy and the magic of the Force which she was also skilled in. Throughout the next years, Gaspard lived among his peers as the only Kossith in his class at the chantry, while at home, he was taught magic by his mother. It was a life that he adapted to very easily, such as his mother before him who had to do just the same, just that Gaspard had to do this at a younger age. Finally, once Gaspard was free from the shackles of primary learning and attained quite a bit of knowledge and now hitting his teen years, he was able to establish a job of sorts with his father. These sorts of jobs were rather adventurous, if anything Gaspard had adopted from his surrogate father besides his charm and wit, it was his nature for adventure. They traveled to various unearthed ruins to take records and discover new artifacts, runes among other things. Albert was always skilled with a sword while Gaspard would use his magic in physical practice against targets that weren't just dummies. It was exhilarating, finally able to be who he was, not being under watch like he was in town. On days on end, they would come home after four days on each adventure with Issala home, worried sick and always cooking them up a good meal. It wasn't exactly a perfect, water-color, all Orlesian family that the mainstream demographic would hope for, but to Gaspard, he was so very fortunate to live like this with two loving parents. Being normal is overrated after all. Life went on, it was a routine, just like Issala's previous life (there are many parallels with Gaspard's life and Issala's isn't there?), the good and fun was forced to an end. Gaspard never knew that such a thing would ever happen to him, but he could remember the night so very clearly when there was a knocking at the door, and then chevaliers and templars were armed at their doorstep. There wasn't much time, and it was apparent on who they were after. They tried to barge into their house but fortunately, Issala acted on her instinct before thought, and ended up trapping all of them in a paralyzing explosion of a glyph of repulsion and paralysis. She woke Gaspard up as Albert quickly readied provisions that he had prepared in case of such a situation. Before it was time to leave however Albert took a moment to pull out a long case that held a staff/halberd hybrid known as Tavros. Gifting it upon Gaspard and telling him to use it for protection. They made it out the back entrance of their mansion and Issala knew that they couldn't leave any trace, proceeding to rain fire upon the mansion, burning it to the ground before leaving Val Royeaux and the three of them, becoming fugitives. Gaspard knew that he should be cautious and afraid for his life, but honestly, he found the entire experience absolutely exhilarating. They knew that they had to leave Orlais, it wouldn't take long to find a party of their description, two kossiths and an Orlesian. And so came back to the running where Albert decided that it was best if they escaped to Ferelden, having never making any contacts there and would be easy to start over, to have a brand new life. After making past most of the Dales they stopped in sweet respite in Halamshiral, resting for two days. Only a few days off of the Frostback Mountains and then Orzammar and that in itself was the fact that they almost made it into Ferelden. They were so close, yet by the events of that later night, it was obvious that they were still so far away. Their pursuers from Orlais did not give up, there was a group of templars that was following their tail, every step in the way and finally they caught up once Albert thought they were safe. It was too late to run and too late to hide. Issala however, did whats he had to do to protect her son. Albert and Issala begged Gaspard to run and don't look back. He needed to survive, he was their only saving grace after all. He was the reason that both Albert and Issala could go on wandering aimlessly. Gaspard refused, if the two of them were going to turn themselves in, then Gaspard would do the same. Issala reprimanded him and expressed her love for him and that she would die to see Gaspard locked up and become what she had for so long feared. With one final goodbye kiss from both of his parents. Gaspard had to do to keep up his promise with his parents. He reluctantly escaped from their encampment and looked back just once, only barely to see the templars arresting his parents. Their fates were unknown to Gaspard, whether they were executed, killed on the spot or imprisoned, Gaspard to this day, has no idea. He made it into the Frostback Mountains and beyond, traversing into the main road that diverted to many. It was obvious that this piece of land was what his father called, Ferelden. Gaspard was a stray child, lost in this vast world, but he knew enough about the survival skills that his father had taught him. And that, was needing a job. He tracked sources of civilization down to Orzammar where he had rested for a week. The longest rest he'd ever had. Gaspard used the rest of the money that Albert left him with to travel across Ferelden, stopping by many cities and towns along the way so that he could finally make it to the capital known as Denerim. There, Gaspard made his mark and bought himself a home for just himself. When he had his citizenship and home stabilized and ready, he was finally able to start a new life, live how he wanted to and by his own rules. First order of business, get a job that will make him money. And what job is that? Mercenary work. Sure it was grunt work but they don't really care about apostates as long as they got the work done. Besides, getting friendly with mercenaries is a sure fire way of getting protection, especially around Denerim. Sure Gaspard made himself quite well known among Denerim as a mysterious Kossith with an Orlesian accent, two very different things, and the fact that he had a noble and regal appearance, while at the same time, owning a very fabulous home. And at the same time, is also known for his work as a mercenary, taking down targets and other scum all for the money. During the next few years, Gaspard worked his way up the mercenary food chain and began to take on more dangerous jobs which also meant, more money. At the same time, he never let up on his magical skills, always having secret dealings with the Tranquil proprietor of the Wonders of Thedas magic shop who didn't mind about everything that Gaspard was. Then again, tranquil don't really feel do they? Years went on, and finally the fifth blight started. That's when things got rather chaotic for Ferelden. Gaspard however, saw the Blight as a huge moneymaking opportunity because of the Battle of Ostagar. It was apparently going to be some all out bount against darkspawn. All were invited, royal knights, mercenaries, and of course, Grey Wardens. Gaspard went ahead and enlisted himself into the hired swords division of the battle. Sticking out from the rest of the mages due to the fact that he was the only Kossith mage there at the time. He posed as a circle mage from Orlais, explaining his accent so not many were that suspicious, especially considering that at the time, they needed all the help they could get. After the betrayal on the battlefield, Gaspard was one of the few to make it out barely with his own life. Escaping to the nearest town being Lothering. Making refuge there for a while so that he could rest and recuperate. However, Gaspard knew that he could only stay for so long and one day was just about long enough. He then began his long trek back to Denerim. Where he could finally relax in his own home, and remain calm, forgetting the sights that he's seen in Ostagar, trying to run away sort of. For the rest of the year, he took a break from Merc work all together and just stayed at home. He never knew fighting darkspawn would be so frightening. For once in his life, Gaspard was actually fine with the old and not that much with the new. He thought he could avoid the blight till it laid siege on his own home in Denerim. Like many other residents, they had to evacuate and run from the darkspawn. But Gaspard felt like he ran away from these sons of bitches for a long time. And so, he took part in defending Denerim from Darkspawn when the armies of every nation in Ferelden joined forces under some Grey Warden. It was hell that night, he never saw so much blood, and the destruction was almost irreparable, but in the end, they did it, and the archdemon was slain. Gaspard can still remember looking up at the sky and watching as the top of Fort Drakon lit up like a beacon of hope. In the end, the Warden who saved them all died to protect Ferelden. Many didn't know who he was, Gaspard included, but that certainly didn't stop him from attending the mass funereal held for said Warden. Gaspard spent the next years helping out with repairs for Denerim. Everyone had their part, and in the end, when everything was fine and stable from the Thaw. He felt that it was time that he got back on the field. Gaspard returned to the same mercenary group, who respected his hiatus. If Gaspard had anyone to thank for making it this far, it was both of his parents. Without them, he'd be locked up, mouth sewn, and his horns cut off. He was blessed to have been able come out so far, and make a name for himself. Appearance Where should we start on first? Perhaps the horns would be the easiest to point out. Gaspard has two horns protruding from his forehead like any other kossith, however, rather than directly pointing out backwards, the horns are faced much more upwards as compared to many other Kossith's who's horns only divert upwards at the tip. Not only that, but Gaspard decided to take it a step further by painting the inner facing side on the tips of his horns red for added flare and for no real specific reason. Gaspard is secretly and slightly narcissistic about his face, which in some cases, are true. Having very well defined cheekbones and a nose that fits perfectly on his face. His overall complexion is tan which is natural considering that racially wise he is a technical "pure blooded" kossith. However, due to the time he spent in Orlais and the various beauty products the absolutely loves to indulge on, he is able to make his skin seem slightly less dark as compared to other kossith and even more radiant. Gaspard's hair is another Orlesian product. His hair was cut short and is styled in a very human way, much less messy and barbaric as Kossith's don't naturally take care of their hair much. Not to mention the fact that his hair is completely died with the use of secrets from Orlais, because naturally, Gaspard's hair is completely white while now, it is a more auburn color. He chooses to style his hair in this way as to show that he is more Orlesian than he is Kossith. (Hell the only thing Kossith about him is his horns and his pointed ears). That and the fact that the color itself is the color of his Orlesian father, and would do anything to be more like him physically. Facial hair wise, Gaspard has a sprouting circle beard around his mouth with slight stubble on his jawline. When it comes to builds, Gaspard has a rather slender build for a Kossith considering the fact that he was Orlesian raised, and is much less bulky when compared to many other Qunari warriors. However, despite his slim figure this does not mean that he is a twig, Gaspard himself has well defined muscles and is quite fit for being a mage. He still needs to train his upper arm strength after all if he wants to fluidly handle that hybrid of a weapon he possesses. When it comes to stances and posture, he is mostly standing quite upright in an imposing stance almost in a challenging sort due tot he fact that he feels the need to make his prescience known wherever he is. Despite having such an imposing stance, his movements and stature is rather lady-like, his legs are always close together when standing. However, Gaspard uses this to his advantage in different situations, such as if someone was rushing him with a weapon, he can easily, kick on foot off the ground and maneuver with the other to dodge. Technically, one would call whatever Gaspard is wearing a robe, considering that the one he is wearing is almost like a cape with sleeves that somewhat cover the front of his body. Only down to his torso at least. The robe itself holds an indigo, almost purple like color with symbols and markings sewn in. It's rather lowcut in the front revealing Gaspard's chest and half of his pecs. Underneath the cape-ish robe he wears simple black-linen pants and dress shoes. While not very protective armor, the entire outfit is actually quite special and is not just for the style, considering that with this robe, he can absorb electricity, becoming immune to any electrical sort of attacks and absorbing them into his mana, and also holds up a high resistance against magical attacks in general. However, as a drawback, he is vulnerable to all sorts of physical harm unless he has his Rock Armor spell active, which he does have active almost all the time when he's in battle. Accessory wise, Gaspard holds multiple earrings that reside in only his left ear. All of them are really just for show and have no real special effect concerning his abilities. However, the necklace/collar that he has around is neck is a complete other story. This accessory increases his magical output and the design itself is a bit of a fuck you to the Qun as it is basically a strapped down and skinned off version of a choker placed on a Sarrebas. The insignia on the actual necklace is a stripped off version of the symbol used to represent the Qun with a little added "Gaspard" flare in the mix. Personality One of the first trait that people would like to point out is that he is a playful, fun-loving kind of guy. A trait that many may have never seen coming from a Kossith. To be more specific, Gaspard likes to socialize and make things more fun than they have to be, occasionally stretching the truth and over-exaggerating. He's not afraid to be blunt, but not blunt in a rude way, more like blunt in the sarcastic joking way where he will say things up-front in a very peculiar manner. As such, sometimes he will say things just to really get to people and wonder what reaction they would have once he had said it. He considers other people as very interesting things and prefers to surround himself with people he would consider his friends rather than being alone. Another obvious thing that one could point out just by having a word with Gaspard is that he is a dangerous flirt. Hell, Gaspard saying "Hello" is already a flirt in most cases. Working in tandem with his playful nature, he doesn't mind harmlessly flirting with absolutely anyone who he deems attractive in his mind, men or women, he likes it both ways. Despite his "willing" disposition, he doesn't act on his flirtatious words in most cases unless the other party reciprocated the lustful feelings. But he is definitely not an easy bedding if that's what you are all thinking. He may flirt, but he does not sleep around. Gaspard usually flirts with people just to see the reaction that they would elicit, adding some more fun and thrill in his life. He is a very curious fellow, loving to explore the many options in life, the many roads that he can travel and taking in just about everything. If he were forced to go down one road, he would travel it to the end, only to backtrack to the intersection in the end and explore what he could have missed. His curiosity also applies when it comes to meeting people. If there was ever a person that would try to act "cool" or "reticent" then Gaspard will try his best to pester that person to show their weaknesses, their true self. This can also end up in Gaspard getting beaten up, but hey, it is always worth it in his opinion. When it comes to magic or battle however, Gaspard still has his playful thunder, but is a lot more dangerous when engaged in combat, almost like a firecracker waiting to explode. He becomes focused but at the same time, has fun with it, usually ending in his downfall as he tends to underestimates his opponents and overestimates his own magical ability, causing him to lose any sort of tension during battle. However, this doesn't mean that he's completely useless, once things get hairy, that's when "the real fun starts" and Gaspard lets loose and becomes a force to be reckoned with, sometimes even considered as a one man army due to the ability that he holds. One wouldn't expect from his playful personality but Gaspard is truly a sensitive guy. Taking pity on those getting picked on and getting hassled. For example, let's say he comes across a man getting mugged. He wouldn't be afraid to make a big show out of it and completely hand those brigands their asses in combat. He has a soft spot for people who are picked on, those who are considered "weaklings" as they remind him a lot of himself and the home that he lived in while he was a child. Gaspard is truly his own adjective, to describe someone like him, one can only say that he is just plain, Gaspard. Abilities W.I.P. Recent Events T.B.A. Relationships T.B.A. Redirect Main Page Registration Details Site Backstory Category:Kossith Category:Mage Category:Original Category:Orlais Category:Ferelden Category:Adoptable